YoUDee vs. Sparty
YoUDee wins Capital One Mascot Challenge round, now faces Sparty
12:20 p.m., Oct. 8, 2012--Behind a Monday morning online voting surge, the University of Delaware’s national champion mascot , YoUDee, came back to win the fifth round of the 2012 Capital One Mascot Challenge with a narrow victory over Wolfie Jr. of the University of Nevada.
This week, YoUDee is matched against Sparty of Michigan State University in the sixth round of the challenge.
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YoUDee is 3-2 and in need of additional match victories to advance to the playoffs. The top eight mascots with the best head-to-head records will compete in a bracket-style, single-elimination competition to determine the overall winner.
Fans can vote at the Capital One Bowl website, and are encouraged to use the contest’s Facebook and Twitter access to remind friends to cast their ballots.
“The support of UD faculty, staff, alumni and friends around the world who have voted for YoUDee in the Capital One Mascot Challenge is gratifying,” said Sharon Harris of UD’s Office of Communications and Marketing, manager of the YoUDee program. “As the contest continues, we encourage everyone to keep voting to help YoUDee on to the playoffs.”
In addition to YoUDee, the challenge features All-America team mascots Wilma T. Wildcat of the University of Arizona, Testudo of the University of Maryland, Cam the Ram of Colorado State University, Truman the Tiger of the University of Missouri, Ms. Wuf of North Carolina State University, the Scarlet Knight of Rutgers University and Sebastian the Ibis of the University of Miami.
Also vying for the national title are Cosmo of Brigham Young University, Raider Red of Texas Tech University, Sparty of Michigan State University, Mike the Tiger of Louisiana State University, Wolfie Jr. of the University of Nevada, Bucky Badger of the University of Wisconsin, the Duck of the University of Oregon and Cocky of the University of South Carolina.
YoUDee is the defending national mascot champion, having won the top prize at the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) College Cheerleading and Dance National Championships held in January at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
After being selected by Capital One, members of the YoUDee mascot team traveled to Los Angeles to participate in the preparation of promotional materials for the challenge. The Capital One Mascot Challenge site now features humorous videos of the mascots.
The Capital One National Mascot of the Year will be announced at the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1, 2013, and will be awarded a $20,000 scholarship to help fund its school’s mascot program. Each of the 2012 Capital One All-America team members will also receive $5,000 for their university mascot program.